Common Ground
by PissyNovelist
Summary: The Sole Survivor often wonders if she's the only one who had to walk to Hell and back to earn all she had earned. But one lonesome visit to The Third Rail forces her world into another nuclear war. But, as the Sole Survivor learns, she's never been good at sharing the spotlight. **Alludes to Fallout 4 Spoilers**
1. They Call Me The Wanderer

**Don't have weird daydreams, kids. That's how these stories are born.**

She was known as Sweetpea by many. She was known as Fiona by few. But all knew her as the Sole Survivor.

She had walked the entirety of the Commonwealth, touching the life of every single person she had met along the way. Some remember Sweetpea as just that; a sweet young lady somehow untainted by the commonwealth. Some, however, remember her as a vixen sent by the devil himself. A charming, gorgeous woman in a little silver dress who mastered the art in eyelash-batting to get what she wanted before robbing you blind.

Yet, of all the people she had met and the few she enjoyed enough to invite them on her adventures, she felt lost. Nick could set his internal clock to her daydreaming; eleven each night. Sweetpea would stare just above the fire, over his left shoulder.

"Dame's like you don't have time to daydream." Nick tossed into the air, hoping to finally get some answers. Since everything that had happened with her son… she had fallen victim to this weird habit.

"Dame's like me isn't the best statement when I'm one in a million." Sweetpea replied in an instant.

"You're one in a million for a lot of reasons, but I think you should elaborate." Nick slide over, positioning himself a little closer to her.

"Do you think… that there is _anyone_ in the world who has seen what I've seen? Been through what I've been through? I feel… _alone._ "

That was enough to make Nick sit back and really think.

"Depends on what you're referring too, doll." Nick sighed. A wave of determination fell on Sweetpea's rough, scarred features.

"Do you think there is _anyone_ in this world who has emerged from a vault, then had to venture on some bullshit _quests_ to find someone or something they love, just to get fucked in the end? Do you think anyone has lived my life? Or do you think this is just some cruel joke… just like the Deathclaw. A cruel fucking joke." At some point during her mumbled reveries, she had found a bottle of whiskey in her bag.

"Maybe not. But we haven't been around the whole world, doll. In fact, I'd say odds are good there is at least one other person who knows how you feel."

Sweetpea said nothing, but Nick's words touched her heart. The old, broken detective still had a little spark in him. She smiled, giving him a pat on the back. He took it as a silent thank you.

"I'm going to walk you back to Sanctuary, then I'll be going out alone. I just… I just need to travel on my own."

"You sure? I know you're one tough little lady, but that doesn't mean we won't worry." Nick said, obviously referring to the group she now considered family, who were all back at Sanctuary.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be okay. Just for a day or two. If I end up staying out longer, I'll try out that new courier service that just set up in Diamond City." Sweetpea said, packing as quickly as she could, ready to be alone with the radio and her thoughts.

The pair reached Sanctuary just an hour after packing up. After a nice sleep in her own bed, she ventured out on her own despite the rumbling discontent that came from her friends.

Sweetpea didn't scavenge or search through the wreckage of old buildings. If she found anything that looked interesting, she simply made a note to come back to the coordinates when she felt ready. She ended up stumbling all the way to Goodneighbour; everywhere she looked, she was reminded of Hancock, and she smiled. Sweetpea loved that crazy little ghoul.

"Hey, you should head down to the Third Rail. You have some… _competition._ " One of the security ghouls mentioned as she passed. Sweetpea showed no outward interest, but her stomach churned.

' _Competition? Now what could that possibly mean?'_ Sweetpea let her thoughts race as she practically jogged downstairs to the musky bar.

At first she didn't notice it. Mongolia was singing, settlers where chatting. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Sweetpea furrowed her brow. Competition? No one could compete with her. She was practically the damn Queen of the Commonwealth with all the shit she's done for others.

But _then_ … it was clear.

The shadowed figure in the back corner, just across form Mongolia's stage, sat a figure. She set down a shot glass and chased whatever was in it with a swig of Nuka Cola. The figure stood, taking of what was clearly a trench coat and slung it nicely over the back of the small loveseat. They poured themselves another shot, and repeated, until they clapped at the end of Mongolia's song.

Sweetpea knew Mongolia would never be able to resist the new face; ordering herself a drink to get a good view at all the action.

" _My, my, my… another new misfit coming to Goodneighbour to find their real home?"_ Mongolia was barely audible over all the typical hub-bub of the bar, but Sweetpea moved over to the collection of chairs in front of the stage, hoping to get some better reception.

"A misfit town? Come now," the figure chuckled in a feminine voice ", this ain't even close to a misfit town."

"And who gives you the authority to say that?" Mongolia chuckled, placing her hands on her hips, gently swaying back and forth.

"The fact I've been just about everyone on this burnt fleck of land _gives_ me the authority. But pardon me. Your set was excellent, dear. That was the second time in my whole life I've ever heard music played live. Here," The figure handed Mongolia a little leather pouch, obviously full of bottlecaps ", please buy yourself something nice. On me."

Mongolia blew a kiss to the new stranger, walking to the bar with a swagger in her step. Sweetpea, one of Mongolia's many one night stands, laughed.

"You didn't even have to sleep with them and they're throwing caps at you. You just get better every day.

"Listen, Sweetpea. That woman," Mongolia gestured softly and out of notice ", is an enigma. She waltzed in here about an hour ago, bought three bottles of whiskey and three Nukas. She's just been sitting there. Hasn't even told anyone her name… reminds me of you." Mongolia winked, gently dumping the caps onto the bar top to count.

Sweetpea left her to her business, curious about the woman in the corner of the bar. As she approached, the figure became more fleshed out. While her face was scarred and sun kissed, there was still a sense of beauty to her. It was clear she couldn't be much older than herself.

Her back was straight, her posture was perfect, and her hands unfolded from her knee just for a moment to fix her auburn hair. The red lipstick hadn't been reapplied in a while, leading Sweetpea to believe she just put in on in the morning out of habit. Then, Sweetpea's eyes fell upon a PipBoy. It looked older and way more beat up than her own.

Sweetpea sat down across from her and folded her arms. The enigma didn't even look up from her drink. Sweetpea coughed, but still received no response. It was strange… everyone in the Commonwealth responded to her, some even begged to be in her presence. But this _woman_ was acting like she was better than her.

"Never seen you hear before." Sweetpea started, cautious and slow. She wasn't certain what the dark stranger wanted.

" _I've_ never seen _you_ before." The woman replie.

"No, I've never seen you in the Commonwealth. Who are you?" Sweetpea insisted.

"I'm Melina." She responded.

"Cut the shit, just tell me why you're here."

Melina opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by a loud, male voice.

"Hey, Sweets! You left Bella on the table," MacCready ran in with Sweetpea's prime laser rifle in his arms ", I just had to make sure you had it! Not like Nick sent me to check up on you." He winked in his cheesy way, leaving Sweetpea with a smile.

When his eyes lifted to the stranger known as Melina, Sweetpea could take her eyes off his face. MacCready suddenly fell still and silent. His lips pursed and his brows moved along with his thoughts; Sweetpea wondered what was going on inside his brain. She looked to Melina, who seemed calm as ever as she locked eyes with her companion, waiting for him to do _anything_.

"Mac… Mac, you okay?" Sweetpea whispered, shaking his arm a little.

"How are _you_ doing, _mungo?_ " MacCready grinned, clearly in disbelief.

"Whoa, droppin' the 'M' word? By the looks of it… you're a great big mungo yourself. And… your face still looks like my butt." Melina smiled. She could hardly contain herself leaping to her feet, MacCready jumping into her arms for a big bear hug.

"What the fuck is going on?" Sweetpea, confused and nothing else, rose to her feet and stared at the hugging pair. MacCready seemed to scoff, keeping one arm around the woman when he went to speak to her.

"I can't believe I almost forgot about this lady. Sweets, this is the _Wanderer_."

 **I just don't even know. I have an idea of where this is going so I hope everyone enjoys?**


	2. More to be Had, More to be Seen

**Whoops long time no chapter. I got on A3 and was writing for another fandom. I'm actually waiting on some Valentine inspiration.**

 **Turns out, after some serious mapping, this won't be too much longer anyway.**

"Jesus, what ever happened to that little bitch?" Melina scoffed, referring to Princess; then taking a long sip of her drink before lighting up a cigarette.

"Heard she went far out East. I don't know, I ended up leaving Lamplight early. Itchy feet and all that." MacCready shrugged, feeling nothing lost over Princess.

"God, you make me feel so old. I'm thirty-one, but looking at you making me feel decades older," The Lone Wanderer sighed, a soft smile gracing her lips ", you know. You're the first person I've seen… from back then, I mean."

"You've aged well, mungo. You wear over a decade of scorching sun look like a spa treatment."

Melina and MacCready continued to joke while Sweetpea bounced her gaze back and forth. She wasn't sure of what to do or what to say. MacCready liked to talk, but this was on a level she had never seen… she had never heard him be so _open_ about anything during their time together.

"Well, I'm burning daylight," Melina stood, shrugging her regulator duster onto her shoulders ", should our paths cross before I hike out of here, I'll buy you a few drinks and we can catch up some more." MacCready stood as well, giving the woman a kiss on each cheek.

"Where are you headed?" Sweetpea asked, collecting her pack.

"I heard rumors of a detective, I'm headed straight to him."

" _Oh,_ Nick Valentine. He's back at my settlement, I'll walk you."

Melina looked to MacCready, who gave a reassuring nod. Trusting her old friend, she nodded at Sweetpea. The toughest mayor Little Lamplight ever saw headed to sit at the bar, Melina blew a kiss to Mongolia, and the estranged pair left the bar swiftly.

They walked a few minutes outside of Goodneighbour in complete silence. Sweetpea didn't mind; staying vigilant for the local mutties that liked to roam the boarders of the city. Melina, however, didn't like it so much.

"So," Melina started with a sing-song tone ", I've heard rumors of a woman named dubbed the Sole Survivor. You wouldn't _happen_ to be her, hmm?"

"Yeah… yeah, people call me that." Sweetpea wasn't a fan of the tone she took; a tone that displayed she knew more than she was letting on.

"And _why_ do they call you _that_?"

"Long story."

"We got time."

Sweetpea sighed, waiting until they were safely across the bridge, up into the safer parts of the 'Wealth, before speaking.

"Long story short, I was the only survivor of one of the Vaults here in Boston. When news traveled of a sole woman in a Vault one-eleven vault suit emerging from the area, Diamond City Radio… the guy who runs it, Travis, started calling me that. It sort of stuck."

"What kind of vault was Vault one-eleven?" Melina didn't even give Sweetpea time to breathe before hurling another question.

"Uh… to test the effects of prolonged cryogenic stasis on the human body. You know all the vaults were made as human experiments, right?" Sweetpea eyed her companion; she simply waved her outdated PipBoy in the air with a smug smile.

"Oh, I know more than _you_ think I know."

"What does that mean?" Sweetpea haulted her tracks, staring at the back of Melina's head. Melina turned, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

"Well. Vault one-oh-one, _my vault_ , were told they were never allowed to open the doors; resulting in complete extinction or incest... but good thing that didn't pan out, or I might not be here. Vault twelve was made so the door would never seal. Vault nineteen separated family and friends into two groups, resulting in a bloodbath. Vault eighty-seven, the birthplace of super mutants. And a slew of others… Vault zero was the base of operations for all the other vaults. Pretty sure that one wasn't an experiment." Melina scoffed, walking on down the road, leaving Sweetpea to play catch-up.

"How do you know-"

"Travel and a whole lot of it."

A moment of silence fell between the pair, but Sweetpea's cogs were turning.

"Mac called you The Wanderer."

"Indeed he did. But the correct name is The _Lone_ Wanderer."

"And why-"

"Dad left the vault, I followed suit. Traveled on my own for weeks until I met someone tolerable. Three Dog of Galaxy News Radio dubbed me The Lone Wanderer. Sort of stuck. Kind of like it." She shrugged, indifferent to her story now. She had been telling it practically once a day for ten years; what was one more time?

"Wait… _wait_. You came from a vault too? In search of family? Are you kidding, that's so-"

"Wild? Coincidental? Uncanny?" Melina shrugged once more.

"Yes, all of those things." Sweetpea mused, keeping a safe difference from the stranger. She didn't understand…

"I know how confusing it is. I was confused to when I settled into a little town just above the boarder. Met someone kind of just like me. I went from being alone to having someone I could relate to… it's strange."

"There's more?"

Melina looked over at Sweetpea, laughing a hearty laugh.

"Oh boy, how long have you been outside? We practically have a support group. Meet up once a year to trade war stories." Melina snorted, glancing at her PipBoy to see their location before raising her eyes back to the road.

"I don't understand."

"Alright, let me take a few stabs. I know you left a vault. You look like a family woman… I mean, cryogenic storage. So you're from the before times and they don't just let anyone into a vault. You had a family, and they probably didn't make it… but something has kept you out here, you didn't shoot yourself the moment you found a gun. I assume there's a family member keeping your brain together, someone you're looking for, or maybe you've found and are working with them; same difference."

Sweetpea knew the Wanderer was right in her assumptions, but said nothing.

"So you walk out into this brave new world, looking for your loved one or whatever, and you stumble across some people who need your help. And _you help them_ , for personal gain or because you're nice, doesn't matter to the story. And then _those_ people send you out to help other people, who send you to other people, who lead you to the person how has knowledge on your missing loved one who will _help you_ if you _help them_ , yadda yadda yadda," Melina exhausted her breath, taking in a deep gust of air before continuing ", and before you fucking know it, everyone wants a piece of you. Everyone's asking you to do shit; _get me some water, help me get my daughter back from the slavers, bring us food, help me get from here to there._ And then you're this messiah walking the wastes with at least half the area bowing at your feet and the other are cowering in the shadows."

"Oh," Melina continued ", and everything you do is under a microscope. You gotta deal with the radio broadcasting your affairs twenty four-seven, you have to make some big ass choices that end up affecting the entire surrounding area. Every fraction is pulling you every which way. Shit's enough to make you go pretty damn crazy."

Sweetpea kept walking in silence; _how painfully accurate_. Thoughts and feelings flooded her mind. Not only had this woman hit the nail on the head, but she treated it with such disinterest. She had heard the stories all before, at least in variations, leaving her to wonder just _what_ happened outside of her isolated part of this vast wasteland.

"But hey. At some point, you do your final deed. Then, you're free. People stop asking you to do shit because you've done it all. That's when you're free… aside from the occasional boat sending you to some mutated backwoods or getting kidnapped to a crazy casino cloaked in poison…"

"No rest for the wicked." Sweetpea quoted a pre-war song, earning a strange look from the older woman.

"What?" Melina scoffed, earning a ' _forget about it'_ wave from the Sole Survivor.

"Anyway. We got The Lone Wanderer, Courier Six, The Prophet, Majesty, The Whisperer, Harold… he counts by default," she counted on her fingers, looking to the sky ", oh, and the late but beloved Vault Dweller _and_ The Chosen One... only heard rumors about those last two."

"That's… I don't even know what to say."

"Blow your mind? Yeah, that sort of just happens to me." Melina grinned, able to see the statues of Sanctuary just up ahead.

"It's done more than _blow my mind_. It's a literal phenomenon… six people who have all experienced similar lives?"

"Not similar, really. I mean, only a handful of us came from a vault. Courier Six was born and raised in Nevada, The Prophet was a Canadian scientist who developed a serum to keep him alive for literal centuries because he calculated exactly when the war was going to happen about five years before the first bomb. Majesty was… well, she was on some next level shit. I don't like to talk about that crazy bitch." Melina laughed, waving her hand about. Sweetpea had to remind herself to get this woman drunk; make her spill those secrets.

"So… if you're a living legend back in… _wherever_ -"

"D.C."

"… back in D.C… then what are you doing out here?"

"I'm looking for a woman, who went missing off the face of the earth just after my own… _final deed._ I'm hoping to reconnect."

Sweetpea furrowed her brow, but kept the rest of her questions to herself. Instead, she led the woman straight to her home where she knew Nick Valentine would be smoking and reading.


End file.
